Yeah yeah, I can hear you now, “hear we go again, SEO, I know it’s important.”
But hold tight because this is not your everyday SEO.
While I concede that search engine optimization is important, I urge you to look at another type of SEO.
A New SEO Acronym
Now, I’m not going to say this is going to take the Internet by storm or anything, but I think it has a place in your blogging goals.
Start Engaging Others.
It’s a pretty simple concept actually, yet one that has lasting powerful effects on the future of your blogs. If you couple your search engine optimization techniques with engaging others, you are doubling your chances of success, bottom line.
It’s no secret that Google and SEO go hand in hand. Now that we are seeing social media indexing, you can bet my new acronym comes into play as well. Gone are the days of anonymous blogging and selling on the Internet.
People want to know who they are dealing with and they have become more educated and can see through scams and lies. It’s all about online credibility, period. This goes hand in hand with Christian Sarkar’s double loop marketing theory. Consumer trust first, sell product second.
Imagine If You Will
Imagine if you will, here at Traffic Generation Cafe. You just read an informative post on SEO link building. You left a great comment and even asked Ana a question.
You NEVER hear back from her.
Your question is left unanswered and now you are left with a cold “whatever” feeling from her. Will you visit again? Maybe. Maybe not. I would bet not.
One of the biggest factors of success in A-list bloggers is their engagement of community. Responding to comments, answering questions, following up emails, acknowledging your existence.
Let’s face it…we all want to be acknowledged. It’s human nature, so why not capitalize on that and engage your readers the best you can?
How Do I Start Engaging Others?
I have come up with just a few ways that I use to engage my readers and I have found they work wonders.
Just to give you an example, my blog some days felt like a ghost town. Not anymore! The last five posts have all garnered 10-19 comments each. I know this isn’t huge, but the point is, I am making strides.
Obviously because I am engaging with my readers, some of the comments are my replies to them…but before, I would have been talking to myself!
Here are the 3 main things I have done to start engaging others with my blog:
- Express gratitude: when someone comments my blog, I reply and I thank them for their input. Even if they have just said a simple, “nice post,” I acknowledge the visit. This has helped me to receive repeat visitors.
- Visit their blog: this can be very time consuming, but I see it as a necessary function of my job. Everyone, no matter what stage of blogging, or what type of blog has something to offer. I find a post I like best and I comment and I compliment. I don’t sugar coat anything…this is why I search their blog for a post I really enjoy. I am not looking for backlinks at this point, I am simply looking to network and build relationships.
- Ask readers opinion: obviously ending your post with a question for your readers to answer is a great way to promote interaction and conversation, but I take it a step further. When I get a comment offering real value to my post, I reply asking the reader for more of their opinion or advice. This has also helped me to earn repeat visitors and it makes people feel valued. Again, everyone has something to offer you. What you do with it after that is solely up to you.
Marketing Takeaway
It’s not rocket science.
It’s simply the new age of online business and if you hide in the shadows and refuse to communicate, you might as well close up shop. You will not get anywhere, I can promise you that.
What are your thoughts on this fabulous SEO acronym and how will you Start Engaging Others?
I am a wife to a great husband of 13 years (here ya go, now I have to make changes to this sentence once a year), a mother to a beautiful and, no doubt, genius little girl, and a successful internet entrepreneur. I also devoted my life to Jesus Christ many years ago, and He remains my true priority, focus, and hope.
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Lisa,
What a clever way to use the SEO acronym! I couldn’t agree with you more - blogging is all about engaging with others.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
All the best,
Mavis
Mavis Nong @ Free Marketing Training´s last blog ..Blog Commenting – From Zero to 70 Comments In One Day!
Hi Lisa,
it’s all about networking and a blog is part of the social media world. Yeah, and the word “work” is already included in the word “network” - so it’s very obvious that we can’t expect social media to do the work for us. Of course, we can…but how will be the results ?
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Take care and Happy New Year.
Oliver
Oliver Tausend´s last blog ..Think And Grow Rich – The Ghost Of Fear Of Poverty Pt 2
This is me! I have no idea who Christian Sarkar is, I’ve been saying it for years and always told I’m an idiot. lol
I love reading of A-listers and the community engagement, it always gives me a firm chuckle. LOL!
Sorry, I’ll digress…
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Blog Subscription Process Clarification
Hi Dennis:
Well it looks like people should be listening to you!!
Thank you for your comment.
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Powerful Link- Do You Have It
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading your post, but the title was intriguing. To me, what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. I have experienced the real power of SEO (the engaging part), and it has helped a lot. It makes marketing a lot more fun (and it works better than any type of marketing I’ve been involved in).
What you’re talking about is “inbound marketing” and I believe that we’ll read and see a lot more about it in 2011. What we’re trying to do is to get people to come to us, not by us advertising, but by being open and social (helping).
Jens P. Berget´s last blog ..No Christmas Gift to Charity
Jens:
You hit the nail on the head with being open and social. Glad you took the time to read the post! I also agree in 2011 it’s all about social.
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Powerful Link- Do You Have It
I think SEO and engaging with your readers is something complementary. You have to optimize your posts to attract the visitors, then you need to interact, show them you are alive and acknowledge their visit and comment thus (maybe) making them regular readers or even subscribers.
Anyone can see that internet is going more and more social and impersonal blog will find it harder to keep their readership while those that involve with their readers, make the seem part of a community will surely be more successful.
Alex@Jocuri´s last blog ..Gatit
Alex:
Nothing will kill a blog faster than being impersonal and no interaction.
thanks for commenting.
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Powerful Link- Do You Have It
Hi Ana,
I really got a lot of value from this post as always.
I’m quite new to blogging and I totally agree. Its all about engagement and relationships. I’ve asked a number of poplular questions and they never got back to me and it sort of left a bad taste in my mouth about them.
So I’m going to learn from bloggers like you and engage with my readers.
Thanks Ana.
Ruth
Ruth´s last blog ..What Every Internet Marketer Needs To Know When Starting Out In The Internet Marketing World
Hi Ruth:
Glad you enjoyed the post and best of luck to you with your blog in 2011!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Powerful Link- Do You Have It
Valuable tips. nice blog content.
Thank you for reading!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Powerful Link- Do You Have It
How very true. There is still a human element involved in driving traffic. It also will require an investment of time - my own blog is still quite new. It only went online back in August.
Max West´s last blog ..Merry Christmas!
Max
I wish you the best of luck in the coming year with your blog! You are certainly in the right place to find great tips to help you along!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Powerful Link- Do You Have It
Spot on Lisa! “Acknowledging your existence” - liked that phrase. Engagement is really one of the factors, hugely contributing to the success of a business, be it a blog or some other online undertaking.
I’m totally with you on the replying to comments part. The feeling of writing a lengthy comment and not getting a follow-up is definitely not a pleasant one. I rarely revisit blogs, where the author doesn’t pay attention to his readers. Considering that blogs are all about community, it just isn’t logical to not come back to a commentator and at least say ‘thank you’.
Great work with the article!
Daniel Sharkov@Blogging Tips´s last blog ..Successful Social Media Campaign in 4 Steps
Daniel:
thank you for your kind words. I know exactly what you mean with no follow up. It feels very “anonymous” and if I take the time to kudo your post or add value, I would hope someone would follow up with me!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Great tips and thinking outside the box.
Alison Moore Smith@Easy Blog Setup´s last blog ..Top 10 Gifts for New Bloggers
Thanks Alison! I hope that thinking outside the box allows for greater creativity in our endeavors!
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Thanks Nathan and the best to you as well.
Lisa
Start Engaging Others eh? Makes sense I guess, as long as you mean you’re building your site for the individuals instead of the crawlers!
JohnG Home Loans´s last blog ..Best Sacramento New Home Loan Mortgage Rates-November 24- 2010
That goes without saying, don’t you think, John?
Ana
Look at you, engaging your reader only six minutes after he posted! Way to practice what you preach by quickly responding!
I’d like to express my appreciation then, because I find that most bloggers write strictly for the traffic. Well, of course they want traffic…it’s their livelihood on the line. What I mean is that many just write for the sake of writing; to have content, keyword rich, that is meant strictly for search engine optimization. Half of the blogs I’ve come across in the last week just blog about blogging, and it’s driving me crazy! Why don’t people write about something unique?
JohnG Home Loans´s last blog ..Best Sacramento New Home Loan Mortgage Rates-November 24- 2010
Hi John,
I did comment earlier and I think I have something that will keep you from taking a mental health day! I don’t blog about blogging, I can’t blog about blogging, because I don’t know enough about blogging to blog about blogging. That’s why I always read this blog about blogging. Are you better Now?
Lou
Lou Barba´s last blog ..PAR FOR THE COURSE72 plus 20-000-000
Lou:
Now that comment made my day!! Made me laugh and I can say that at least I am better now!!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
John:
I totally understand your frustration! This is why I think engaging others is of the utmost importance. Once you engage your readers, the traffic naturally follows. I firmly believe it’s people first, search engines second.
Thanks for your comment!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
JohnG, that is so true. That’s why I love Ana’s blog. There is always something new to learn from her.
Ruth´s last blog ..What Every Internet Marketer Needs To Know When Starting Out In The Internet Marketing World
Doc:
That made me LOL with no distractions now. once a week will certainly kill your endeavor.
Thanks for your comment
Lisa
Pippa:
Getting the tips now is going to help you tremendously with your blog work! Best of luck to you
Lisa
Good stuff, Lisa! Quick response to comments, a thank you and using their name are three basic must-haves, IMO. I’ve had one client complain that they never get any comments on their blog anymore. Then I found out that running the blog was a collateral task for a person in the company, and they only logged in once a week, to cut & paste a new post, and check for comments on the last one. They even had notifications turned off, because they were “distracting”!
You guessed it… no distraction now! ‘Cause they have no more comments.
If no comment feedback appears from the blog I find myself going back to see if they’re still in business. I mean, literally!
Then if they are, I begin to severely discount what I read from them before. Was it a cut-and-paste idea that they don’t dare comment on because now they’re trapped? Or some other ‘fill’ for the blog just to have something on the page?
Will I go back after that? You’re right, NO. Not unless I see a damn good posting that really draws me in.
Great post. Thanks! (as always)
Gibson Goff´s last blog ..I still believe in Santa Claus
Gibson:
Agreed! I like to know that I am dealing with a real live human and that they didn’t just “cut and paste” some info and slap up a blog. when I don’t see any comments, I do the same thing..are they here? when did they post last? If I hear crickets, I’m out!
Thanks for commenting
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Lisa, great acronym,
I’m hoping to work more on my blog this year, so getting lots of new top tips to remember.
Ana thanks for sharing, as always.
Hey Lisa, great acronym change
The visiting part is where I do the same thing like you.
First of all, I promise my visitors to visit them back if they make a comment.
If I am too busy and don’t have time to comment, I will at least RT their post and share it on (at least) one more social site.
However, when I visit their blog, I will never go to the last post and comment on it (Unless it is a great one). I will actually read a few posts and find the one I really like and only then will I comment/RT/digg.
I think this is far more better than RTing the first post I run into.
Especially that I have followers that will see what am I RTing. If it is a bad post, I might lose some of them.
Brankica @ Live Your Love´s last blog ..Wanna blog better Top 5 blogs to learn from
Hi Brankica:
I think it helps out the community tremendously to go deeper into their posts and find one you like and RT and comment on those. Sometimes that’s how we find the best stuff!
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Lisa you’re absolutely right. I only started making progress once I started interacting and engaging other people.
If you give to people and treat them as more than a possible backlink then you can reap the rewards of friendship AND some traffic
It’s not just about what you can get. Great post!
John Garrett´s last blog ..Hypertransitory- The Comic – Episode 2 – Winter
Exactly John! Isn’t the old adage, “it’s better to give than to receive?”
I saw a world of difference when I realized it wasn’t all about the links.
After all, the links are nothing without the traffic!
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Hi Lisa,
You hit on all of my key “rules of engagement.”
Interacting with your audience builds your audience. Other bloggers frequently check the comments section to see if they are dealing with a live, in the flesh blogger. If you have a pulse and show it be engaging you will grow a community.
Thanks for sharing your insight.
RB
Ryan Biddulph´s last blog ..Home Based Business Tips - Follow These Steps to Grow it Like a Weed
Ryan:
Seeing as I tend to run into you around the blogosphere, you certainly abide by your rules of engagement. It’s clearly evident from your blog that you have built relationships and contribute a lot to the community!
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
yes, really it is not your everyday SEO. SEO can help you to gain the best performance and feedback. wish you all the best. thanks.
Thanks for coming by, Nathan - this was a fun concept to play with.
Ana
Start Engaging Others essentially also means that your content should go viral with the help of family, friends, fans and followers referring their friends to your page and so on.
Hi Andreas:
It certainly is a possibility! The key is to keep engaging those people and give them solid content so they continue repeat visits and continue to share!
Thank you for commenting on my post!
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Great article Ana. Consider me a regular at your Cafe’. Your always up with the times and spot on. Thanks for all the great advice.
Thanks for coming by, Larry, and welcome to my blog!
Ana
Hi Lisa,
I guess no matter what methods you use to engage others, it’s most important to be yourself and be patient. If other people are half as hesitant as I am to pull out their credit card, they have to know you for a while before there’s a possibility for them to buy from you. I definitely don’t think you have to have a best friend relationship with everyone you sell to, but as bloggers, we don’t enjoy the trust sites like Walmart or Amazon do. If buyers and sellers could remember that both are adults, both have something to offer each other, the business part of the relationship wouldn’t get in the way of the personal part.
Lou Barba
Lou Barba´s last blog ..PAR FOR THE COURSE72 plus 20-000-000
Lou:
You are exactly right! Knowing when I first started, I pulled out that credit card too many times for “hype” I see exactly what you mean by the mistrust. And you’re also right that it doesn’t have to a best friends relationship, rather, a professional, business one. After all, Amazon and Walmart had to start off this way too!
Thanks for your comment
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Hey Lisa,
This is very clever way to use the acronym SEO. I really enjoy visiting blog and networking with other bloggers. In my experience that is the fastest way to increase your rankings by networking with other bloggers and working together.
Awesome Job!
Josh
Josh Garcia@Generate Free Leads´s last blog ..Business Blog Is It Vital
Thank you Josh!
I agree that social engagement is the fastest way to get your blog where you want it to be..aside from all the techie stuff. I too enjoy visiting other blogs as it helps me to grow and learn as well.
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Very cool information, I know this site is great for engaging and that is certainly one reason I always read the blogs here
Ray Higdon´s last blog ..The Official Numis Network Review
Hello Ray,
Thanks for visiting my blog regularly.
Hope to see you again,
Ana
Ana Hoffman´s last blog ..Mad Russian’s CHRISTmas – From My Family To Yours
Ray:
I agree…this is definitely a well engaged site! Just goes to show that interacting and contributing to the community can bring success!
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans
Hi Lisa,
The SEO we were used to is loosing its importance and I think this trend will continue in upcoming year. Why? Because people want to talk to real people with real faces. As you said it is all about the trust, how could you trust a person if you don’t know even his/her name? How could you establish the connection with this person if he/she is not able to take your comments or emails seriously enough and give you an answer? Developing the individual relationships and creating loyal communities, that is the future of blogs (and all other online products).
Internet is no longer a place full of faceless phantoms and I am grateful for that.
Excellent sharing.
Adam´s last blog ..Why Is So Hard To Follow Other’s Success
Hi Adam.
I couldn;t have said it any better myself! The social aspect is the new era and if you want to succeed, you need to jump on board. Even the government is tweeting these days!
Thank you for commenting!
Lisa
Lisa´s last blog ..One Creative Way To Increase Facebook Fans